Electrical connecter



July 5, 1938. B. LAZICH ELECTRICAL CONNECTER Filed June 19, 1936 -4 SheetSSheet l N hww WW T N m; 0 V W m n. f, A

July 5, 1938. 7 B LAz|H 2,122,819

ELECTRICAL CONNECTER Filed June 19, 11996 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 l 5 L i a U V 3 Fig. 8.

Hg 9' INVENTOR finznlc 'a ich BY M M HIS ATTORNEY July 5, 1938. B. LAZlCH ELECTRICAL CONNECTER Filed June 19, 1936 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR flranjeo La ich. BY

HLS ATTORNEY Patented July 5, 193a I I 2,122,819

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

ELECTRICAL coNNEc'rlla Branko Lazich, Penn Township, Allegheny County, Pa., assignor to The Union Switch 8; Signal Company, Swissvale, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application June 19, 1936, Serial No. 86,088

9 Claims. (CL 173-328) My invention relates to electrical ccnnecters, shown in Figs. 4, 5, 6, and 7, which plug receptacle and particularly to electrical connecters comprisis adapted to cooperate with the plug A. The ing a plug receptacle having a relatively large plug A in the form illustrated comprises an insunumber of contact members, and a cooperating lating cover 6. secured, by means of suitable bolts plug having a correspondingly large number of 2, to an insulating plate 3 in which a plurality of 5 contact members which are adapted to make eleccontact fingers t are mounted, preferably by trlcal contact with the contact members of the molding the fingers directly into the plate. The plug receptacle. cover I completely surrounds the upper part of One object of my invention is to provide an electhe insulating plate 3, and is provided with a de- 1o trlcal connecter of the type described which is pending flange l which cooperates at its lower 10 particularly suitable for, although in no way limend with a laterally projecting flange 3- formed ited to, use in railway signaling systems to facilion the insulating plate 3 to vertically position the tate the rapid replacement of signaling devices, cover with respect to the insulating plate. The such for example, as electrical relays, which form length of the flange l is such, and the parts are an integral part of the system, and which require so proportioned, that. the cover I forms with the 15 a relatively large number of connections with clrinsulating plate a chamber which houses the upper cult conductors. ends of the contact fingers l with some clearance,

Another object of my invention is to provide an and extending into this chamber through a tubuelectrical connecter which will insure good eleclar portion 5 of the cover is a multi-wire cable 6,

- trlcal contact between all of the cooperating conth individual wires of which are each soldered at 20 tact elements, and which at the same time will their inner ends to a different one of the contact permit ready separation. of the plug and plug refingers 4. The tubular portion 5 of the cover acts c p l I to protect the cable 6 at the point where it enters A further object of my invention is to provide the cover, and also acts, together with two wings a an electrical connecter which can be readily l which are formed on the cover adjacent the 25 manufactured, and which at the same time emclosed end of the tubular portion, to form a han- I Y insofar as it is possible to do so, parts which a die which may be grasped to' facilitate connecting are Standard in the a y Signaling fi the plug with, and disconnecting it from, the plug I will describe one form of electrical connectors receptacle in a manner which will become apparembodying my'invention, and will then point out ent as the description proceeds. The outer ends the novel features thereof in claims. of the wires of the cables 8 are each preferably n he a mp nyin dr wings, Fi 1 is a p provided with an eyelet a to facilitate fastening plan view f a plu f rmin pa of an electrical these wires to the terminal posts of a relay or n t r embodying my v n. Figs. 2 and other similar device. To prevent the inner ex- 3 are sectional views taken substantially on the posed nds of the cable wires from coming into 35 111165 11-41 n respectively. f Figcontact with the bolts 2, the portion of each bolt F e- 4 is a p pl n vi w h wi h plug r ep ,which is disposed between the underside of the tacle of an electrical connecter embodying my cover I and the top of the insulating plate 31s surinvention. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view rounded by .an insulating sleeve 9, which sleeve so taken on the line V-V of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a secalso acts to prevent undue strain on the cover 40 tional view taken on the line VI-VI of Fig. 5. when the bolts 2 are tightened. The cable where Fig.7 is a sectional view taken on the line VII-VH- itleaves the portion 5 of the cover is secured to of Fig. 4. Fig. 8 is a bottom view of the top plate the cover by mea o waxed manila cord or H forming part of the plug receptacle shown in the like, which cord extends through holes in the Figs. 4 and 5. Figs. 9 and 10 are top plan and cover and is wrapped around the cover and firmly 45 right hand end views, respectively, of the clamptied in place. g ing plate 30 forming part of the plug receptacle The plug receptacle B in the form illustrated'in shown in Fig. 4. Fig. 11 is a top plan view of the the drawings comprises a top plate II, the rear bottom plate 26 forming part of the plug receppo tion of wh c s P v d -I plurality of tacle shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6. vertical holes l2, each of which receives a termi- 50 Similar reference characters refer to similar nal post II. The terminal posts it are of the type parts in each of the several views. which have been adopted as standard in the rail- Referring to the drawings, an electrical conway signaling field, and are provided at their necter embodying my invention comprises a plug lower ends with square heads I! (see Fig. 'I) A shown in Figs. 1 and2, and a plug receptacle B which lit in rectangular recesses ll formed in the 55 lock nut ll.

undenldeotflletqpplate llptthelowereum-d theholes llwherehyihetennimlpcdaueprevented from tm'nlngrelative to the top plate ll. Theummddeadrterminalpost lllsprovkled with a washer II, anut llwhichpecuru the-terminal post to thetopplate, two washers-l1 betweenwhichtheendoiacimmtconductoris adapted to be clamped, a nut II for clamping a circuit conductor between the washers H, and a A conducting strip 20 is clamped at one end between the head of each terminal post It and the underside of the top plate, and each-of these conducting strips is provided with a downwardly oilset forwardly projecting portion 20 to which a substantially U-shaped spring clip or jack 2| is riveted. The spring clips or jacks II are disposed within a relatively large recess 22 which is formed in the underside of the top plate in front of the terminal posts, and each clip is provided at its upper end with spaced confronting return bends 2| (see Fig. 5) which are adapted to be clamped into engagement with the opposite sides of an associated one of the plug fingers 4, by means which I will describe hereinafter. Formed in the top plate I I directly above each spring clip is an opening 23 for the reception 0! a plug finger,

the parts being so arranged that each opening will align with a different one of the plug fingers when and only when the plug and plug receptacle occupy predetermined relative positions. The underside of the top plate is formed with a rabbet groove 24, and secured to the underside of the top plate by means of hollow eyelets 25 is a bottom plate 26, the edges of which engage the top plate within the rabbct groove. I The bottom plate 26 serves to enclose the conducting strips and spring clips, thus precluding the danger of short circuits, while the eyelets 25 serve as openings for the'reception of bolts, screws, or the like, by means of which the plug receptacle may be secured to any suitable support. The upper side of the bottom plate is formed with longitudinal grooves 21 (see Fig. 11) which receive the offset portions Ell oi the conducting strips 20, and with rectangular recesses 28 which receive the lower ends of the spring clips 2|, whereby the bottom plate assists in holding the conducting strips and spring clips in the de-- sired parallel spaced relation.

The means referred to hereinbeforc for clamping the spring clips into engagement with the contact fingers of the plug A comprises two clamping plates 30 and II which fit within the recess 22 in the top plate H in superposed relation in such manner that a limited amount of relative longitudinal movement of these clamping plates is permitted. The clamping plates 30 and SI are alike, and as will be apparent from. an inspection of Figs. 9 and 10, in which the plate 30 is shown in detail, each of these plates is provided with a plurality of rectangular holes a, one for receiving each spring clip 2 l and with a plurality of lugs b one of which projects away from the plate adjacent one end of each of the holes a. The plates 30 and 3| are so disposed that the holes in the two plates align vertically withv each other, and-receive the upper ends of the spring clips 2 i and that the lugs b on the plate 30 each extend downwardly into the right-hand end of a different one of the holes a of the lower plate 3!, as viewed in Fig. 6, while the lugs b on the plate 3i each extend into the left-hand end of one of the holes a in the upper plate 30, as viewed in Fig. 6. It will be seen, therefore, that one oi the lugs b on the upper plate II is disposed at one side of each spring clip, while one of the lugs b on the lower plate is dis- .pmed'on'flie other side 01' each-spring clip, and

that, as a result, if the two plates II and 3| are moved relative to each other'in-the proper directions, the lugs will act in simultaneonslyioroe fire two arms 'of each clip toward each other.

.The two clamping plata are arranged to be moved relative to each other in the proper manner to move the arms of the spring clips toward each other to finger engaging positions, or permit the arms to move away from each other due to an inherent bias to their normal positions in which they are shown in the drawings, by means of a wedge-shaped nut 33 which is screwed onto the inner end of a locking screw 34, and which is slidably mounted in a transversely extending channel formed by grooves c which are provided in the confronting faces of the plates 30 and 3!. The right-hand side of the groove '0 in the upper plate 30, as viewed in Fig. 5, and the left-hand side of the groove 0 in the lower plate 3i, each extend at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the assoelated clamping plate, Whereas the other side of each of these grooves is sloped or inclined in such manner that movement of the wedge-shaped nut toward the front of the plug receptacle will force the upper clamping plate 30 toward the left and the lower clamping plate 3i toward the right, but that, movement of the Wedge-shaped nut 33 away from the front oi the plug receptacle will permit the upper clamping plate to move toward the right and the lower clamping plate toward the left. The locking screw 3% is rotatably mounted adjacent its outer end in the forward wall of the top plate ii, and is provided at its outer end with a hexagonal. nut 35 which is pinned to the locking screw, and which, together with a shoulder 34 also facilitates rotation of the screw. parts are so arranged that the wedging nut 33 will be moved toward or away iromthe front of the plug receptacle according as the locking screw is rotated in a clockwise or a counter-clockwise direction, and it will be apparent, therefore, that the arms of the spring clips may be moved toward each other to their clamping positions by rotating the locking screw in a clockwise direction, and that the arms of the spring clips maybe permitted to move away from each other to their released positions by rotating the locking screw in the opposite direction.

In utilizing an electrical connecter embodying my invention, the terminal posts of the plug are connected to an electrical device such as a relay which is adapted to form a part of a signaling system or the like, and the terminal posts of the plug receptacle are permanently connected to the circult conductors of the system. When it is desired to connect the relay with the system, thenut 35 is rotated to the position in which the spring clips occupy their released positions, and the fingers of the plugs are then inserted through the openings 23 in the top plate of the plug receptacle, after which the nut 35 is rotated in a clockwise direction to a position in which the arms of the clips are firmly clamped into engagement with the plug fingers. When it is desired to disconnect the relay from the system, the nut 35 is rotated in a counter-clockwise direction to a position in which the arms of the clips are permitted to return to their released positions, and the plug is then disengaged from the plug receptacle. The parts are so proportioned that when the clip arms occupy their released positions, the plug fingers will slip The:

only one form of apparatus embodying my invention, it is understood that various changes and modifications may be made therein within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. An electrical connecter comprising a plug provided with a plurality 'ofprojecting contact fingers, and a plug receptacle comprising an insulating plate provided with a recess in its underside and with a plurality of holes through which the fingers of said plug are adapted to extend into said recess, a plurality of terminal posts secured to said insulating plate, a plurality of spring clips one disposed in said recess in a posi tion to engage each finger of said plug and each electrically connectedwith a difierent one of said terminal posts, and means forforcing the clips into engagement with the finger comprising two insulating clamping plates movable longitudinally in opposite directions and means for moving the plates.

2. A plug receptacle comprising an insulating plate provided with a recess in its underside and with a plurality of holes through which the contact fingers of a cooperating plug are adapted to be inserted into said recess, a U-shaped clip mounted in said recess below each hole in said insulating plate and provided at its upper ends with means for engaging the opposite side of an associated plug contact finger, two longitudinally movable insulating clamping plates mounted in said recess in superposed relationand provided with aligned holes which receive said clips and with means responsive to relative longitudinal movement of said clamping plates for simultaneously forcing the two arms of each clip toward each other to cause the clip to engage an associated plug contact finger, and means for moving said clamping plates relative to each other.

3. A plug receptacle comprising an'insulating plate provided with a recess in its underside and with a plurality of holes through which the contact fingers of a cooperating plug are adapted to be inserted into said recess, a U-shaped clip mounted in said recess below each hole in said insulating plate and provided at its upper 'ends with means for engaging the opposite side of an associated plug contact finger, two longitudinally movable insulating clampingv plates mounted in said recess in superposed relation and provided with aligned holes which receive said clips and with means responsive to relative longitudinal movement of said clamping plates for simultaneously forcing the two arms of eachrclip toward each other to cause the clip to engage an associated plug contact finger, said clamping plates being provided with confronting transversely extending grooves which together form a channel, each said groove being provided with a straight side and a slanting side so disposed that the slanting side of the two grooves are located on opposite sides of the grooves, a wedge-shaped member slidably mounted in the channel formed by said grooves and cooperating therewith in such manner that longitudinal movement of said member in said channel will cause relative longitudinal movement of said clamping plates, and means for moving said wedge-shaped member.

4. A plug receptacle comprising an insulating plate provided with a recess in its underside and with a plurality of holes through which the contact fingers of a cooperating plug are adapted to be inserted into said recess, a U-shaped clip mounted in said recess below each hole in said insulating plate and provided at its upper ends with means for'engaging the opposite side of an associated plug contact finger, two longitudinally movable insulating clamping'plates mounted in said recess in superposed relation and provided with aligned holes which receive said clips and with means responsive to relative longitudinal movement of said clamping plates for simultaneously forcing the two arms of each clip toward each other to cause the clip to engage an associated plug contact finger, said clamping plates being provided with confronting transversely extending'grooves which together form a channel, each said groove being provided with a straight side and a slanting side so disposed that the slanting side of the two grooves are located on opposite sides of the grooves, a wedge-shaped nut slidably mounted in the channel formed by said grooves and cooperating therewith in such manner that longitudinal movement of said nut in said channel will cause relative longitudinal movement of said clamping plates, and a locking screw rotatably mounted in a wall of said insulating plate and extending into said channeland cooperating with said nut in such manner that ro- 5. A plug receptacle comprising an insulating plate provided with a recess in its underside and with a plurality of holes through which the contact fingers of a cooperating plug are adapted to be inserted into said recess, a plurality of ter minal posts mounted on said insulating plate at one side of said recess, a U-shaped clip mounted in said recess below each hole in said insulating plate'by means of a conducting strip which is secured to and electrically connects the clip with a corresponding terminal post, each said clip being provided at its upper end with means for engaging the opposite sides of an associated plug contact finger, two similar longitudinally movable insulating clamping plates mounted in said recess in superposed relation and provided with aligned holes which receive said clips and with a lug adjacent one end of each hole which extends into the aligned hole in the other clamping plate in such manner that a lug of one clamping plate is disposed on one side of each clip and a lug of the other clamping plate is disposed on the other side of each clip and that relative movement of the clamping plates in one direction will act through the lugs to force the two arms of each clip toward each other'to cause the clips to engage an associated plug contact finger, and means for moving said clamping plates relative to each other.

side of said recess, a U-shaped clip mounted in said recess below each hole in said insulating plate by means of a conducting strip which is secured to and electrically connects the clip with a corresponding terminal post, each said clip being provided at its upper end with means for engaging the opposite sides of an associated plug contact finger, two'similar longitudinally movable insulating clampingrplates mounted in said recess in superposed relation and provided with aligned holes which receive said clips and with a lug adjacent one end oi. each hole which extends into the aligned hole in the other clamping plate in such manner that a lug of one clamping plate is disposed on one side of each clip and a lug of the other clamping plate is disposed on the other side of each clip and that relative movement of the clamping plates in one direc tion will act through the lugs to force the two arms of each clip toward each other to cause the clips to engage an associated plug contact finger, said clamping plates being provided with confronting transversely extending grooves which together form a channel, each said groove being provided with a straight side and a slanting side so disposed that the slanting side of the two .grooves are located on opposite sides of the grooves, a wedge-shaped member slidably mounted in the channel formed by said grooves and cooperating therewith in such manner that longitudinal movement of said member in said channel will cause relative longitudinal movement of said clamping plates, and means for moving said wedge-shaped member.

7. A plug receptacle comprising an insulating plate provided with a recess in its underside and with a plurality of holes through which the contact fingers of a cooperating plug are adapted to be inserted into said recess, a plurality of terminal posts mounted on said insulating plate at one side of said recess, a U-shaped clip mounted in said recess below each hole in said insulatingplate by means of a conducting strip which is secured to and electrically connects the clip with a corresponding terminal post, each said clip being provided at its upper end with means for engaging the opposite sides of an associated plug contact finger, two similar longitudinally movable insulating clamping plates mounted in said recess in superposed relation and provided with aligned holes which receive said clips and with a lug adjacent one end of each hole which extends into the aligned hole in the other clamping plate in such manner that a lug of one clamping plate is disposed on one side of each clip and 2. lug of the other clamping plate is disposed on the other side 0! each clip and that relative movement 01' the clamping plates in one direction will act through the lugs to force the two arms of each clip toward each other to cause the clips 7 to engage an associated plug contact finger, said clamping plates being provided with confronting transversely extending grooves which together form a channel, each said groove being provided with a straight side and a slanting side so disposed that the slanting side 61' the two grooves are located on opposite sides otthe grooves, a

rotatably mounted in a wall of said insulating plate and extending into said channel and cooperating with said nutin such manner that rotation of said screw will cause longitudinal movement of said nut in said channel.

8. A plug receptacle comprising an insulating plate provided with a recess in its underside and with a plurality of holes through which the con tact fingers of a cooperating plug are adapted to be inserted into said recess, a plurality of terminal posts mounted on said insulating plate at one side of said recess, a U-shaped clip mounted in said recess below each hole in said insulating plate by means of a conducting strip which is secured to and electrically connects the clip with a corresponding terminal post, each said clip being provided at its upper end with means ior engaging the opposite sides of an associated plug. contact finger, two similar longitudinally movable insulating clamping plates mounted in said recess in superposed relation and provided with aligned holes which receive said clips and with a lug adjacent one end of each hole which extends into the aligned hole in the other clamping plate in such manner that a lug of one clamping plate is disposed on one side of each clip and a lug oi the other clamping plate is disposed on the other side of each clip and that relative movement oi the clamping plates in one direction will act through the lugs to force the two arms of each clip toward each other to cause the clips to engage an associated plug contact finger, means for .moving said clamping plates relative to each other, and a bottom plate of insulating material secured by means of hollow eyelets to the underside of said insulating plate and enclosing said clips and said conducting strips and provided in its upper surface with rectangular recesses which cooperate with the clips and with longitudinal grooves which cooperate with the conducting strips to maintain the clips and strips in predetermined positions.

9. An electrical connecter comprising a plug provided with a plurality of projecting contact fingers, and a plug receptacle comprising an insulating plate provided with a recess in its underv side and with a plurality of holes through which the fingers of said plug are adapted to extend into said recess, said fingers and said holes being so disposed that said fingers can be inserted into said holes when and only when said plug and said plug receptacle occupy one relative position,

a plurality of terminal posts secured to said insulating plate, a plurality of spring clips one disposed in said recess in a position to engage each finger of said plug and eachelectrically connected with a diflerent one of said terminal posts, and means for iorcing the clips into engagement with the fingers comprising two clamping plates movable longitudinally in opposite directions and means for moving the plates.

' BRANKO LAZICH. 

